Going into the application process I was on the fence on whether I wanted to use a consultant, but by recommendation of a friend who had a great experience with Helen I reached out to schedule an initial phone call. After our 30 minute conversation, the value add that Helen would provide in the process was abundantly clear to me. I ended up working with Helen on a few of the schools I applied to (hey, I at least wanted to do a few on my own!) and do not regret it at all. I only wish I had worked with her on all of them! Helen helped me tell a clear and cohesive story in my apps and provided great clarity and focus throughout the process. I would definitely recommend her to others.

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I did the Start-to-Finish Package for two schools with Susan, Tuck and Yale. I also applied to HBS, Ross, and Foster on my own. Coming from a non-traditional background I was daunted by the MBA world and wanted to be sure I was able to tell my story authentically, but in a manner that would resonate with MBA admissions committees. Ultimately, I was admitted to Tuck and waitlisted at Yale. I also receive admission to Ross with a full-tuition scholarship and Foster with a moderate scholarship. While Susan and I only worked together on Tuck and Yale I know without a doubt that my other applications also benefited from our work together. I would 100% recommend working with Susan.

Susan is often characterized as “tough”. I don’t believe this to be a completely accurate characterization. Susan was relentless at making sure I put my best foot forward, while also being a deeply empathetic and supportive colleague. The MBA admissions process is tough and requires you put in the work, Susan makes sure you do it. She helps you to find your story and paint a clear picture of who you are and what you bring to the school. There were times when I got frustrated because I thought I was addressing a comment, but she would say I hadn’t gotten it yet. This can feel tough, but it was absolutely essential in pushing me to be as effective as possible in my essays. She knows what it takes to succeed and was invested in my success.

I deeply appreciated all the time Susan put into to get to know me during the brainstorming process and beyond. During the brainstorming Susan identified themes that I hadn’t thought of based on the information I sent her about my experiences. She was spot on and I was surprised how someone I barely knew could so quickly get at the heart of who I am. Additionally, after writing a few drafts of my first essay I didn’t feel fully comfortable with the direction. We spoke about it at length and finally it clicked for both of us what the thesis of the essay really should be. This extra time she spent to make sure I got my message just right was incredibly helpful and it was also the moment I knew Susan would keep working on a problem as long as it took to get it right.

My applications also required video components, which I was originally terrified of doing. Susan showed me how to master them with ease and after our practice sessions I felt completely calm and prepared.

Finally, Susan was always on time with her responses and provided thoughtful, detailed comments on my numerous draft essay and other materials draft.

I highly recommend Susan! It was so reassuring knowing she was on my team and I could go to her with any question at any time. I’m thrilled about schools I got into and couldn’t have done it without her!

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From my initial consultation to preparing for interviews, Melissa was easy to work with, genuine, and always gave me the impression she really cared about my outcome.
As a foreigner entering the business school application process without any experience in the US college system, I found the whole thing intimidating to say the least – and the decision of which consultant to use even more stressful. After completing a free session with Melissa I was immediately confident in my choice; her extensive experience in the field, both in the university system itself as well as in a consulting capacity, was very evident. She was honest in pointing out the weaker aspects of my background, but also overwhelmingly positive about where we should focus to provide me the best chance.
Over time as we worked together, she was instrumental in helping me construct and communicate my narrative effectively. I found the brainstorming session particularly helpful for this. During the essay writing (hardest part for me), she provided quick, actionable feedback, which was always constructive and positive in nature, and made me feel like I was on the right path.
I was ultimately accepted into my first preference, a school I had initially thought was a big reach. I can confidently say this would not have been possible without Melissa’s amazing help, and so cannot recommend her enough to prospective business school applicants!

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Melissa's guidance and support throughout the admissions process greatly surpassed my expectations! During our initial call, I could feel her genuine interest in my background and experiences, as if I were talking to a close friend. Ultimately, with Melissa’s high-level assistance, I gained acceptance to my top two programs.

Melissa was instrumental in helping me craft my story and insured that everything always aligned with “who I am” as a person. We were able to pinpoint the weaker qualities of my application and enhance the subtle strengths, of which I would have overlooked without Melissa’s help. I was able to truly use her as a sanity check throughout the entire process, no question too small or basic. From helping with career guidance to reviewing my 9th draft of an essay, she was always there to assist.

After receiving admit calls, Melissa was one of the first people I told because I truly felt like we were a team and I knew I could not have done it without her help. I highly recommend working with Melissa to anyone applying and looking for teammate throughout the entire application process.

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There is zero chance I would have made it through the application process without Melissa.

The primary internal debate I was having leading up to the application process was whether or not to seek professional assistance. Due to financial reasons, I thought.....maybe I could do it myself and save some money. I could NOT have been more wrong...

During my initial 30 minute free consultation very early on in the process, Melissa came prepared and ready to help. She gave me tangible next steps so that I could maximize my time between that first call and when we would begin writing essays months later. Her advice ranged from 'getting more involved in a volunteer organization I was already apart of to retaking the GRE to taking HBX CORe to improve my quantitative abilities'.

Hiring Melissa was the investment of a lifetime. It was my first large purchase, biggest financial sacrifice, and I am absolutely THRILLED with the outcome of our work together. And thrilled is a drastic understatement.

She gave me the confidence I needed to own and tell my story. Melissa provided truly the most candid / honest feedback I needed on every single word I put in my essays.

She mandated that I dig deeper, push myself harder, and brought out the absolute best in me - all while being an incredible mentor, friend, and support system.

In the end, I got into my #1 dream school: Darden. It was a stretch. We knew it was a stretch going in, but her unwavering confidence in me got me over the finish line. I learned that applying to business school takes a village, and I'm eternally grateful Melissa was part of my village.

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Kate was incredibly instrumental in easing the application process. From the our first conversation when we discussed target schools and brainstorming, she was the ultimate professional. She helped me bring out the best aspects of my profile in order to put my best foot forward when it came time to apply. She was the ultimate professional, keeping me on task as the application season progressed and always available for an email or chat whenever I felt bogged down. I felt Kate went above and beyond to make sure I was satisfied with my application prior to submission. I would highly recommend Kate to all future applicants!

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Krista Nannery helped me gain admission to a T10 MBA program by helping me truly understand my career goals; helping me write strong, impactful, and memorable essays; and helping me prepare effectively for behavioral interviews and group interview activities. Moreover, I feel like Krista really cares about helping me reach my career goals, and over the past 6 months, I feel like she has grown into a friend rather than a consultant.

If you read nothing further than this, please read this:
She will absolutely strengthen your candidacy for your MBA program of choice. I went from settling for a T35-T50 school with a median salary outcome of $100k to a school with a median salary outcome of $145k. Just considering this, my ROI IS OVER 300%. If you consider scholarships and intangibles like experiences and network, my ROI is significantly higher.

Before Krista: planning to apply to T35-T50 schools

After Krista: Applied to 7 schools
Admitted to 2 T10 (one with a small scholarship)
Admitted to 2 T15-T20 (both with half scholarships)
Dinged WITH interview from 1 M7 school
Waitlisted with interview from 2 T15

Here are some highlights on what Krista helped me with:

1. Brainstorm. She helped me brainstorm potential essay topics by thinking about my personal, undergraduate, and work experiences. This was SO important because ALL of us have valuable experiences to share with admissions committees, but we sometimes discount those memories. As an experienced admissions insider, Krista helped me understand my unique experiences and how I could showcase them on my applications.

2. School selection. After considering my career goals and family needs), she helped me select schools that would be a good fit for me. Again, there is SO MUCH MISINFORMATION and stereotypes on the internet about MBA programs, so I’m glad that I had someone as knowledgeable as Krista on which schools could help me achieve my goals. She helped me pick 7 schools to apply in Round 1 since I wanted to be finished by early 2020. Krista was REALISTIC with me about my chances at certain schools, something I really appreciate after this humbling process.

3. Essays. Krista’s help in this area likely helped me get a scholarship from a T10 school. Krista helped me plan and put together top-notch essays. I tend to ramble (can you tell?) and Krista helped me refine my essays to the most important topics. In some cases, she helped me restructure my essays to make a stronger, more impactful statement. To be clear, she did not write my essays, but she did make my essays 100% better. If you’re a regular person like me, I promise you, your essays will be so much better after working with Krista

4. Recommenders. Krista helped me manage my letters of recommendation very effectively. First of all, she gave strict timelines that I used in order to get my applications in on time. This was very important since one of my recommenders took FOREVER to get back to me. When one of my recommenders gave me bland feedback, Krista helped me put together conversation points that helped me speak with that recommender. He ended up writing a fantastic letter of recommendation that included specific examples. Krista really saved the day here.

5. Interview prep. This was HUGE. MBAmission provides free interview guides for top programs. These guides include actual questions and what to expect. Krista took this a step further and conducted mock interviews with me. This gave me a significant advantage over other applicants since I had an idea of the pressure that I would feel answering real interview questions. Krista asked actual behavioral questions that sometimes caught me off guard, but this helped me during the real interview. In one scenario, 100% of the questions during my T10 interview were asked either in our mock interview or in the Interview guide. HUGE ADVANTAGE!!!

6. Advice and Friendship. I feel like Krista really cared about me, my family, and my helping me reach my goals. At no point did I ever feel like we had a transactional relationship. During this entire process, I feel like Krista has grown into a family friend, someone that I can trust for real, honest career advice. I think we all need someone like that in our corner.

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Background - I am a Caucasian male working in Finance (wealth management) with a degree from a decent private school and a 710 GMAT score. Needless to say I come from a very over-represented group.

Like many people who ultimately chose to go with mbaMission, I chose the service for its excellent reviews and the abundant resources the service provides. I chose the 4-school package, and although I was nervous to spend that amount of money, I cannot stress how much it was worth it in the end. I chose to work with Melissa Blakeslee after doing the free 30 minute fit call, and I could not be happier with my experience with her. She is a former admissions director herself, so she knows exactly that the admissions teams look for. The essay writing process is daunting, and I know I would've second guessed myself or submitted a much weaker essay without Melissa's help. MbaMission guarantees responses within 48 hours, but most of the time Melissa would send me her reviews of my essays the next day. I always felt comfortable shooting her a quick email asking random questions, knowing she'd respond quickly.

The time spent working on the Brainstorming document and session was especially well-worth it. Melissa was able to pull details from it in order to help me think through how to write each of my essays, and I was amazed with how much she seemed to know about me in just a short period of time. She was patient, organized, and most importantly really cared about my success.

By the end of the process, I was accepted into a top 10 school with scholarship! I thought it would be difficult for someone with my background to get accepted into a top program, but I never even imagined I could get funding for it. The money spent up-front for the consulting service paid off multiple times over with my scholarship reward, and I know that I wouldn't have gotten it without Melissa's help.

I honestly can't recommend Melissa enough. Please do yourself a favor and work with her!

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Susan is a fantastic admissions consultant. I can't say enough about her contribution to my applications.

She spends a lot of time upfront clearly laying out her process so that working with her is efficient and methodical. We spent a lot of time brainstorming my story and how it will fit with my target programs. I did not have a safe school and she respected that decision - her goal is to make your application the best it can be for each school you choose. Within the framework of my story, she pushed me to adapt each application to the specific schools to increase the likelihood of success. The application has to be genuine and has to align if/when invited to interview, so she is careful not to draft actual text. She NEVER missed a 48hr turnaround deadline and frequently sent through comments earlier. During crunch periods when I needed things turned around more quickly she took the time to explain what my options were and her availability to accommodate. Her guidance is always clear, helpful, and specific when it needs to be. She must have turned my HBS essay 30+ times and the 4 others 15+.

Applied to 5 schools; Accepted to 4 (HBS, Wharton ($$), Tuck, Kellogg ($$$)), wait-listed at 1. White male in finance.

She is not stressful to work with. She can seem 'tough' at times, but in the best way possible: only because she knows if your application does not yet fully reflect your potential in the context of each school's values. She will insist that the essays can get better and will give you the guidance to help you get there.

Finally, she's on your side. She cares about your success and will be anxious with you when decision are released!

I highly recommend choosing Susan as your admission consultant.

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When first contemplating an admissions consultant, I was very hesitant as many others probably are due to the cost. I took the jump after my initial consultation with Krista and think it was the best decision in gaining admission to a program that will change my life and well worth the investment.

Krista worked with me in essentially every step of the process except GMAT prep. The three things that benefited me the most were school selection, crafting my story, and her personal interest in my success.

School Selection: Krista and I talked in depth about school selection. She introduced me to a wide selection of schools that she thought would be a good fit for me that I had not considered. Through our conversations, she opened my eyes to how school fit could effect my future career and experience at a school and ultimately helped shape the list of schools I applied to.

Crafting My Story: Coming from a non traditional background, I was at a point in my life to transition to a new career but wasn't exactly sure how I would make the transition. It's important to have your own broad vision but not knowing what you don't know makes it hard to paint a complete picture. Krista's experience really helped fill the gaps in my story and allowed me to better communicate the "where I've been, where I'm at, and where I want to go" story. She also helped to translate the essays we worked on together to fit prompts for other schools that I worked on myself.

Personal Interest: I think the most important part of my relationship with Krista was her personal interest in my success, her professionalism, and dedication to what she does. Krista is deeply passionate about what she does and it shows. She has always returned my documents with corrections early, sometimes same day depending on her workload. She is extremely responsive to email for quick questions and easy to schedule skype calls with to talk about progress throughout the application process.

Having Krista and the resources of mbaMission by your side through your application process is probably the best decision you can make. With Krista's help, I have acceptance letters from two top 10 programs with scholarships. It was truly a pleasure working with Krista this past year and cannot recommend her enough.

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